SeaTac
' SeaTac '''or '''Seatac' is a city in southern King County, Washington, and an outlying suburb of Seattle. "SeaTac" is a combination of the first syllables of "Seattle" and "Tacoma." The city of SeaTac is 10 square miles (26 km2) in area and has a population of 26,909 according to the 2010 census. The city boundaries surround the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (approximately 3 square miles in area), which is owned and operated by the Port of Seattle. The city includes the communities of Angle Lake, Bow Lake, McMicken Heights and Riverton Heights, which were established before the city's incorporation. Residents voted for incorporation on March 14, 1989, and the city incorporated in February 1990. Geography SeaTac is located at 47°26′29″N 122°17′35″W (47.441406, -122.293077). It sits at an elevation of 262 feet above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.21 square miles (26.44 km2), of which, 10.03 square miles (25.98 km2) is land and 0.18 square miles (0.47 km2) is water. Burien is north and west of SeaTac, Tukwila is east, and Kent and Des Moines make up their southern neighbors. History The area had been grounds the Muckleshoot and Duwamish tribes roamed. Canoes were found in 1990 to be at least 250 years old, and both tribes claimed they were their own. White settlers arrived in the 1850s. Transportation was rough until Military Road was constructed. Settlers quickly built their own paths leading to Military Road from their homesteads. Communities began to spring up such as Angel Lake and Sunnyvale. Angel Lake had a school built in 1893. Late in 1940, Dean Spencer and George Wolff cleared and graded a crude 1,700-foot-long airstrip on 70 acres of forest near Bow Lake. After the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor private flying was prohibited within 150 miles of the Pacific Coast and Spencer and Wolff were soon off flying for the military. With the war in full gear, and Boeing churning out planes for the war effort, the federal government asked state and local governments to take up the challenge of building a new regional airport to meet war needs and serve future air travelers. Only the Port of Seattle accepted the challenge. Construction on the future Seattle-Tacoma International Airport began in January 1943 and opened to limited civilian use in 1945. The City of SeaTac was incorporated in 1989 and named after the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which it surrounds. The airport has provided much wealth to the city of SeaTac, and in 1995, Highline Times editor, Rob Smith noted, “Burien, Des Moines and Federal Way were all a little envious of SeaTac’s wealth.” A former SeaTac mayor described his city; “SeaTac can be described as very much a blue collar community with a champagne budget.” Economy The city is home to over 900 licensed businesses, nearly 80 of which are "Fortune 1000" companies. They employ nearly 40,000 employees in the city of SeaTac and generate local sales of approximately $3.7 billion. Transportation .]]SeaTac is served by three major highways: State Route 99 (International Boulevard), State Route 518, and the Airport Expressway. Portions of Interstate 5 and State Route 509 also lie within the city limits. Airports The city is served by the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, located within city limits. Public transportation The city is also served by several public transportation services: Link Light Rail stops at two stations in the city, at Tukwila International Boulevard station and SeaTac/Airport station, with a third station at Angle Lake proposed to be completed in late 2016; King County Metro operates several bus routes in the area, including the RapidRide A Line on International Boulevard and RapidRide F Line on Southcenter Boulevard; some Sound Transit Express regional bus routes terminate or serve the SeaTac area, primarily the airport and other transit hubs. Category:King County Category:Cities & Towns Category:Washington State Wiki